FM 1488 expansion may commence soon

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, August 6, 2008

An appeals court ruling could pave the way for Montgomery County to begin widening FM 1488 in an area between Interstate 45 and Carriage Hills Boulevard.

Last week, the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Beaumont denied the state’s appeal of a county court-at-law ruling that allowed Montgomery County to condemn state land along FM 1488.

The county needs the 12.5 acres, which are part of the W.G. Jones State Forest, to expand the road into a four-lane highway with a continuous center turn lane.

The state was willing to part with the land at a commercial property price of $4 to $6 per square foot, or about $2 million. But the county disagreed with the state’s price since the land is part of the state forest and would never be allowed for commercial development use.

The county offered $40,742, a value determined by the Montgomery County Appraisal District.

After price negotiations between the county and the state foundered, the county filed a right of condemnation on the land July 7, 2007, in County Court-at-Law 2.

Despite Texas Assistant Attorney General Richard D. Naylor’s argument that the case should be brought before the Texas General Land Office, Judge Jerry Winfree ruled the county could use eminent domain to take the property. The state then appealed the county court’s decision.

In his July 31 decision, Chief Justice Steve McKeithen referred to a state code that says the right of eminent domain granted to a county by the Legislature “extends to public or private land, but not to land used for cemetery purposes.”

McKeithen’s opinion was that “legislature clearly and unambiguously permits the counties to proceed against other governmental entities using that public land,” according to court documents.

“Now we’re just waiting to see if the state will take this to the Supreme Court,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Craig Doyal said.

While the state can no longer appeal the condemnation ruling, it may appeal the price the county is offering and has until Sept. 15 to file with the Supreme Court, said Jennie Taraborelli, program manager for the Montgomery County Transportation Program.

Asked what could be motivating the state to ask for a commercial price on the land, Doyal said simply, “Dollars.”

As the county ultimately will be reimbursed by the Texas Department of Transportation, a state agency, for its payment to the state for the land, the state is essentially deciding how much money will transfer from one department to another.

“It’s very frustrating that we’ve reached such an impasse with this project,” Doyal said.

There is some hope, Taraborelli said.

“When I spoke with (Naylor) regarding the decision, he said something along the lines of, ‘We’ll see if we can get this wrapped up quickly,’” she said. “I don’t think they want to drag it out any longer.”

The Attorney General’s Office was unable to comment about the case Thursday.

Taraborelli said the county and state would have to decide on a price before the road-widening project begins, but she thinks they may have lost their chance to demand a higher payment.

“This has put us a little behind on that project,” Taraborelli said. “We would have been done in September 2009. But instead, if all goes well, we’ll be finished in February 2010.”